Rene Fonck

[jado]

Richard:

From his book you can tell that Fonck, like MvR and Mannock was a hunter and not a fighter, a stalker not a slugger. *In his *two years as a fighter pilot (he flew observation craft 1916) his plane was never hit by an opponents bullet. *Though his story is not filled with Immelmann turns and spinning dives, guns blazing, it is the story of a man who placed love of country and concern for his fellow pilots foremost. *Paul Rene' Fonck served France well and its a shame that his contribution to this day basically goes unsung.

[Gregvan]

BobE,

You asked for some reading suggestions. First of all, of course, read Fonck's own "Mes Combats", translated and published by Doubleday as "Ace of Aces" (edited by Stanley Ulanoff) in 1967. I have both the hardback and the paperback versions, and it shouldn't be too hard to find thorugh interlibrary loan, abebooks, etc. I see copies turn up on eBay every so often.

By all means, also check out Osprey's "Spad VII Aces of World War 1" by my friend Jon Guttman, published last year and still in print. Jon is a superb writer and researcher (who's out of touch right now because he's serving his country in Bosnia) who had the good fortune to meet and or correspond with many surviving French pilots - some of whom knew Fonck. As I recall from discussions with Jon, many of those same old pilots heartily disliked Fonck, and some claimed he "stole" victories from them - perhaps this was only jealousy. Jon writes about the difference in the way the French pilots and public perceived Fonck and Guynemer with great insight. He says of Fonck, "If his writing hints of vanity, so did his demeanour around his fellow pilots. He did not mix well with others, behaving either withdrawn and shy, or conceited - both traits indicative of a deep-seated sense of insecurity. Fonck's self-aggrandising tendencies annoyed many of his fellow pilots, and undermined their respect for him in spite of his very real achievements."

Jon points out that Guynemer flew relentlessly and 'burned himself out' for France, and Nungesser alternated between fighting, womanising and drinking (much of this while recovering from wounds) Fonck himself drank wine only moderately, got plenty of sleep and spent his leisure time practicing marksmanship - a very mature attitude for a fighter pilot, and one which greatly contributed to his many successes.

Jon also recounts a tale from Louis Risacher (a Spa 3 pilot) which pointed out the differences. A Canadian Camel 'ace' (sadly, his name forgotten) visited the Storks Group and offered to have a mock dogfight with Guynemer and Fonck. Guynemer took him on head-on and outmanoeuvred a Camel in his Spad. Fonck challenged THREE of the Brits to go up, and he would attack them without being seen - and that's precisely what happened."Fonck was a very good pilot, of course, but he never made a dogfighting manoeuvre in the air - he always flew flat. Not to be seen by anybody - that was his style".

So I think that Guynemer is perhaps more admired because he literally did use himself up, burn himself out for France. Fonck had the more careful attitude, and survived the war to write a book which - I gotta admit - makes him sound quite conceited. As others have pointed out, that puts him in pretty good company as far as fighter pilots are concerned.

Greg

[Gregvan]

Hello Again !

BobE, you also asked about illustrations of Fonck's aircraft. The aforementioned Osprey book has the often-seen photo of Fonck's Spad VII S1461 with the red number IX on the fuselage; the a/c is perched on its nose after a rough landing, one of the few experienced by Fonck, apparently. The book also has a nice color profile of the same plane. Fonck's cannon-armed Spad XII has been illustrated several times, and it will feature , along with his Spad XIII, in Jon Guttman's upcoming Osprey Volume on Spad XIII aces (due to be out soon).

You've asked about the flavor of Focnk's own book. Here are some more quotes:

"The month of August [1917] was a veritable aerial massacre for the enemy...The number of enemy fighter and reconnaissance planes diminished every day under our blows. I had become a virtuoso, and having seriously practiced my art, I succeeded in htting the enemy from every angle, from no matter what position I found myself in contact with him. From that time on, my greatest victories took place..."

"On May 9, 1918, I brought back my most outstanding victory. I had been dreaming for some time of shooting down five adversaries within a twenty-four hour period, and I said to myself that, without a doubt, nobody would be able to surpass that performance for a long time...[he actually downed six that day, according to the book]..I could not begin to describe the reception that awaited me. There were endless ovations. I was even carried in triumph, and the barstools saw plenty of action."

The book does have some nice descriptions of aerial combats, and interesting comments about other Stork pilots, etc. However, some of it is a bit hard to take. His comments about having shot "as if I placed the bullets there by hand" and "those little coups of audacity which amuse me" are well-known. However, there's no doubting that he was one of the best of the best. His careful stalking technique and conservative approach to flying sounds a lot like Richthofen, indeed.

Hope that is of interest.

Greg

[Gregvan]

Another book I should have mentioned is, of course, "The Storks: The Story of France's Elite Fighter Groupe de Combat 12 (Les Cigognes) in WWI", by Norman Franks and our own Frank W. "Bill" Bailey (Grub Street, 1998). It gives a more balanced and 'official' view of Fonck based on his victories -both confirmed and otherwise - and his citations.The complete listing provided in the Groupe de Combat 12 Combat Log in the appendix should be of interest.

Greg

[Dan_San_Abbott]

BJD:
If I may add to Greg's response.
René Fonck was an exponent of the of the diving attack, you dive, fire and keep right on going.
A little side light, he made an attempt with atwo others to fly the Atlantic from New York to Paris a few day before Lindbergh, but crashed on takeoff. Fonck survived the others did not.
By the way, I have never met a reticent fighter pilot, there is no such thing.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

Dear Dan-San and everyone,
The aircraft was a tri-motor, the Sikorski S-35, attempting to take off on 21 September 1926 from Mitchell Field, Long Island (now part of the campus of Hofstra University; and it's pronounced "Lawn Guyland"). Of the four man crew, Fonck and Curtin escaped; Clavier and Ismaloff did not. It was believed that the plane was severely overloaded. Hartney, Luke's CO in 1918 (he liked and believed Luke; see his UP AND AT 'EM) later sued Fonck over this incident, or some such, but I'm afraid that no details spring to mind...
As to Fonck's record: according to one of our German Forumites, I believe it was Völker Nemsch, MES COMBATS is, more or less, 'whole cloth'; at one point, Fonck invented a German rival, who he later duels and downs (bien sur!), WHILE NO SUCH GERMAN ACE EVER EXISTED...
Another point: wasn't Fonck also accused of collaborating with the Germans during the Occupation? Then again, as TIME magazine reported at the time, the definition of a collaborator is "someone who collaborated more than you".
Avec mes sentiments distingueés,
Captaine "Qui? Moi?" Louis

[jado]

BobE:

Probably the best way is for you to read "Ace of Aces".
I just checked and there is a copy available at[www.aeroplaneboooks.com], It priced at $25.00.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *VBR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Joe

[Richard_Schrader]

All;
I just can't buy Fonck's statement that his plane was never hit by even one single bullet. I know he flew with his head, and that helped him stay alive, but come on, never hit!

Richard

[Kirk]

Just to add my two cents worth, I think Fonck is not lauded as much as other pilots simply because his fighting style and personality don't seem to fit in with the preconcieved idea of what we think a WWI fighter pilot should be. When I was growing up I had these visions of chivalrous men with scarves blowing in the wind engaging in huge dogfights. Fonck's businesslike approach to airfighting and unattractive personality don't lend themselves to great stories that we all love to read. Although his accomplishments were great, he just doesn't have the entertainment value of other pilots.

[Richard_Schrader]

Kirk;
I have nothing against the way Fonck fought, it's the classic way a smart pilot fights. Most of the great aces of both world wars used the same tactics.

Richard